Wednesday, December 27, 2006

so i've picked up the trendy new chick hobby of knitting. seestich and bitch. i had been knitting scarves like a madwoman when i decided, "why should my friends and family be the only ones to suffer from my new hobby, when i can torture my dogs, too?" and thus began the search for an easy dog sweater to knit. i found this one online. i like it a lot; it is quite simple and only took me about a day. granted, it was all christmas eve day on the couch watching christmas movies, but it was a day nonetheless. max was the first victim. here he is modeling his new garment...

Saturday, December 02, 2006

ok, so, apparently, my mobile blog post sent from the rose bowl is going to take a while to show up (as long as my tom jones concert posts did, i.e., a few days - thanks for nothin', blogger.com), so let me just say this in the meantime:

we are the mighty bruins,the best team in the west [well, l.a., anyway].we're marching on to victory,to conquer all the rest.we are the mighty bruins,triumphant ever more.and you can hear,from far and near,the mighty bruins roar!

u-c-l-a, u-c-l-a, f$%@ SC!

yeah, bruins! 13-9! usc's not going to the national championship game! ha!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Sitting on the tarmac in Denver waiting for a gate. What's the use of being early if there's no gate available? And now we've learned that the plane that is supposed to leave our gate is having some maintenance issues. We're not the only plane waiting for a gate either - I can see another one on our right. I wonder if it will be like a showdown for a mall parking spot during Christmas when the gate opens up. Personal to United - buy some scheduling software! And soon, cuz I hafta pee!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Thursday, October 12, 2006

i love that my site meter lets me see what search terms were when someone ends up at my page from a search engine, like google, etc. here are the most recent search terms that landed people at my site. how many do you think were disappointed by what they found?

i think the "maltese peasants" searcher was probably most disappointed although maybe the "hear live parakeets singing" person was probably a close second. the "wthiwwjp" searcher hit paydirt when they found my links to videos of japanese people doing strange things on tv shows. i love the internets!

i always knew about rocketdyne and the rocket testing going on in the santa susana hills in the east end of simi valley. how could you not know? when they did the rocket tests, it sounded like they were launching the space shuttle from your backyard! but i didn't know that there was a nuclear reactor up there and they were doing nuclear tests as far back as the early 50's. nor did i know that simi valley apparently had our own chernobyl in 1959. you can read the reports from the santa susana field laboratory advisory panel here.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Friday, September 01, 2006

i have been reading dinosaur comics for a few months now and it makes me laugh out loud all the time. the artist, ryan north, is obviously a complete nutter, but in a good way. the t-rex character is extraordinarily well done. i thought this recent comic was particularly worthy of a post:

the line "because as we know the debate over breakfast is as subjective as it is eternal" is probably one of the truest phrases ever uttered.

click on the dinosaur comics link above to go directly to the site to revel in all of the dinosaur-y goodness. the site has an rss feed so you can put it in your favorite rss aggregator and get dinosaur humour everyday. or you can check the link in my sidebar.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Notes: This is perhaps the best show I have ever been to. Everything was perfect. Amazing seats. Fabulous outdoor venue with gorgeous summer beach weather. The guys were amazing and clearly enjoying themselves up there. The crowd vibe was great. The setlist was great and they did a good job keeping the energy up through the whole show. I love it when they start off with Rapunzel, it’s usually a sign that the guys are in a good mood and you can expect a great vibe throughout the show. Bunky enjoyed himself thoroughly and was dancing and singing along – a first! It could have had something to do with the $12.50 Corona Lights (“I’m not trying to buy cocaine!”), but I’m pretty sure it was the vibe coming off the stage. It’s so much more enjoyable when you love the person you’re seeing the concert with and that person is totally enjoying it. Funniest line of the evening was when Bunk turned around and looked at the entire full amphitheatre behind us and asked, "Don't you just want to yell out, 'Suck it, peasants!' to all the people behind us?" Anyway, back to the music, Rashawn Ross (wow, he’s a big dude) brings an interesting sound to the mix and really brings out the best in Le Roi (like he could be any better). At the end of the Robert Randolph jam on Louisiana Bayou, Bunk turned to me and said, “That’s the best jam I’ve ever seen, including all of the bands we’ve ever seen in New Orleans.” On the way out, he said it was the best concert he’s ever been to (yay!) and I have to agree with him. Oh, and it took 10 minutes to get out of the parking lot. I’m not lying! On to the set list…

Pantala Naga Pampa * - Always a good sign...Rapunzel * - Love the heck out of this song. One of my favorites. Dream Girl * - Such a great vibe. You could tell Dave’s voice was back. Good to hear with my sweetie at my side.Proudest Monkey * - Great to hear this one for the first time in a long time. Satellite * - Definitely one of my favorites and so great to hear it after a long while. Called my voicemail for this one!Shotgun *- Really enjoyed this new song. Dave was making jokes about his tiny guitar. Grey Street *- When I saw the 12 string come out, I was hoping for JTR, but Grey Street never disappoints.You Might Die Trying * - Not my favorite dancing song, but I love the words, which really spoke to me during a scary transition in my life last year. Now that I know how well that transition worked out, it means even more to me and hearing this song was like validation.So Much To Say * - This was when I noticed Bunky knew the words and was singing along! Loved the vibe on this and the Anyone Seen the Bridge transition to Too Much, where Carter just lets loose was great.Too Much *- Some people say they’re sick of this, but not me. Break Free * - Another new one. It has a good feel to it and can’t wait to hear it more.Crash Into Me – Couples skate! Crowd absolutely explodes when they hear this, I guess because it was the radio hit. Not my favorite DMB love song, but I wouldn’t kick it out of my bed for eating crackers.Lie In Our Graves * - Love. This. Song. Boyd was on fire. Screamed my lungs out.Can’t Stop – Loved watching Stefan lay down the funky, sexy baseline and Dave just belting this one out while holding his guitar like a security blanket, even though he wasn’t playing it. I love the parallel that he draws between love and addiction.Hunger For The Great Light * - More intensity from Dave on this one. Not one of my favorites, but I love the intensity of emotion.Improv Intro *+ - I got very excited when I saw Robert Randolph’s roadies come out with his slide guitar. I was waiting for this moment when I first heard that they would be opening. The improv was great. I love watching the guys enjoy themselves while they play. The Kanye West “Golddigger” bit was pretty funny, even if Dave copped out with the radio edit.Louisiana Bayou *+ - I was totally hoping they would play this and it did not disappoint. Robert Randolph has so much energy and takes this already great song to a whole new level. Even Bunky was dancing and screaming. I thought I was going to faint at the end. Probably the best musical performance of any kind that I have ever seen.__________________

Sister [Dave Solo] – Another new song. So heart-rending to hear him sing about his sister like that. Everyday *- The crowd loves a sing-along and did a pretty good job. I love the vibe on this song.Ants Marching * - Always a great closer, I loved the energy on this. A favorite for Mom, so I wish she could’ve been there for this one. Hope they play it at Hollywood Bowl for her.

Friday, August 25, 2006

in anticipation of seeing my 17th, 18th and 19th dmb shows this weekend, i went to my dmb concert notes to relive a few of the past shows. i thought i'd post my notes on the first show ever, the show where i drank the kool-aid apparently. i went to this show a fan, i left a convert.

Notes: I had the “Under the Table and Dreaming” and “Crash” albums, which I liked a lot, and had recently purchased “Before These Crowded Streets.” I had been listening to it nonstop while I was studying for finals in the spring semester of my second year of law school. Daven was out of town somewhere, so I was home alone. I knew that DMB was playing that night and I was in the library and just decided to go. I drove down to Irvine, bought a ticket from a scalper in the parking lot; he had bought the ticket from the people in the car in front of me. Parking at Irvine Meadows (sorry, that’s what they called it when I was growing up) was, as always, a nightmare and I listened to Two Step and Jimi Thing from the car with my window down, and heard Satellite as I was literally running along that eight million mile long walk to the amphitheatre. I walked in at the end of Satellite and started what will probably become a lifelong obsession! Dave told the crowd that they were going to play straight through without an encore because they had to be done by 11.

Set List:

Two Step – it sounded great from the car.Jimi Thing – as above.Satellite – man, I love this song, it was magical to hear it live for the first time, even if I was running while I heard it.Crush - sounded great.The Stone – always kind of ambivalent towards this song on the album, it is great live.Dancing Nancies – Boyd rocked this. he played so hard that he shredded his bow. At the end, I turned to the people next to me and thanked them for selling their ticket.Stay – Dave sang the “Makes you Wanna, Makes You Wanna” bits on his own, so cute.Tripping Billies – this was when I realized that everyone in the place knew all the words to every song and sang along.Last Stop – so intense.Lie In Our Graves – This song is meant to be heard live, outside with the stars above your head on a warm summer night. I was hooked.Don’t Drink the Water –with Bela Fleck playing banjo, so it sounded a lot like the album version but it seemed to go on forever as they jammed it out.#41 – I remember being amazed at how long this song was in concert and telling people after how cool it was that they could jam like that.Patala Naga Pampa/Rapunzel – I was ready to hear this song the moment that I walked in; it was the first thing I asked the people next to me, if they had played this yet. I was glad not to miss it; t did not disappoint.Crash – the couples skate song; really awkward to hear if you are alone.All Along the Watchtower – I had no idea that they did this song live at the time and was completely blown away.

Guests:

Bela Fleck on Tripping Billies, Last Stop, Lie in Our Graves and Don’t Drink the Water.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

31 hours and counting until my first dmb show of the season and 17th total. i. cannot. wait. irvine meadows (that's the old school name for verizon wireless amphitheatre) on friday night. coors light amphitheatre in chula vista (motto: if you spit, you can hit mexico) on saturday night. and, the hollywood bowl on monday night. thanks to the warehouse (official dmb fan association), i won't be sitting any farther back than 5th row. the set lists over the past few weeks have been great and i'm really looking forward to hearing the new songs. i'll try to post setlists and reviews each night.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Monday, August 14, 2006

so, on saturday afternoon, we were driving on the 405 in west l.a., between the 10 and the 101. typical bumper to bumper. too many goddamned people in this town. yada yada yada. it turns out, though, that there actually was a minor accident in the fast lane just past sunset and just as we were coming up on it, the chp stopped the traffic in all lanes to let the cars move off to the right. we were one car back from where they stopped the traffic and when the chp officer waved us on, i looked up and saw nothing but empty 405 in front of us. happy to be driving the acura and not the hindenwagen, i cut over one lane to the left to get around the looky-loo in front of me, floored it and took off to get myself some quality alone time on the 405.

bunky was my co-pilot, so he took some shots to document this historic event. as you can see above, hardly anyone in front of us. and not too many people keeping up with me, either, as you can see from the rear view below. it took him a few seconds to get the camera out, so, if you can imagine, it was even emptier than this.

it was nothing short of miraculous and (how lame is this) the most fun i've had in a while. i'm not sure, but i believe i may have said, and i quote, "yee ha!"

Friday, August 11, 2006

in this one, they are waking up people in very shocking ways. the first two are so-so, but the last two are outstanding! enjoy!

this one is toilet pranks, done by the same people who did the sauna pranks that i posted a while ago.

it's kind of repetitive, but the third prank will make you laugh out loud. and if you watch all the way to the end where they show the judges (?) [about 7:10] you will see beat takeshi (otherwise known as vic romano in spike tv's mxc) dressed in a sailor suit and sporting a hitler mustache. whaaaa? seriously, what kind of drugs must japanese television producers have access to?

ok, i keep finding more. i really should ration them out and make it a weekly thing. i would have enough posts for the next hundred years. this one is just unspeakably bizarre...

Friday, August 04, 2006

well, apparently, all the candles i lit and incense that i burnt at my altar to the mac gods have hurried my beseeching prayers to their holy ears. my ipod's trackwheel, which seemed irretrievably broken a couple of long weeks ago, has spontaneously resurrected itself after spending some alone time in my nightstand drawer. it's a miracle, i tell you. praise the lord and pass the podcasts!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

i found this rather cute, considering my weakness for donuts. i would think that i would be a buttermilk donut, as they are my favorite. apparently, however, i am a powdered sugar covered chocolate donut, which is fine, because my sweetie loves him some chocolate...

You Are a Powdered Devil's Food Donut

A total sweetheart on the outside, you love to fool people with your innocent image.On the inside you're a little darker, richer, and more complex.You're a hedonist who demands more than one pleasure at a time.Decadent and daring, you test the limits of human indulgence.

Friday, June 16, 2006

so, my bunky bought me this great thing called a TerraPass for my car. basically, you calculate how much carbon dioxide your car emits in a year and then give money to this organization that will invest in carbon dioxide reducing technologies and reduce that same amount of carbon dioxide from being emitted from another source. Native Energy also has an offset program available and even has one for offsetting your air travel. how cool is that?

another "try and be quiet while people are doing weird things in a place that you are normally supposed to be quiet" game from our friends across the pacific. in this one, men are sitting in a classroom watching a video of some guy trying to practice english (emphasis on the trying) and they are ordered not to laugh. if they do, they are called out of their seat to get on their knees and get caned. the clip is a little long, you get the point after the first caning or two...

Saturday, June 10, 2006

a few weeks ago, my internet connection at home was down for about 3 weeks and i couldn't download any podcasts. i know, boo-hoo. the upside was that i was digging much deeper in my i-pod archives than i normally would and have been listening to some stuff that i haven't heard in a while. let me tell you, some of it has not aged well. but some of it really has and i love the feeling of listening to an album that you haven't heard in a while and remembering why you loved it so much way back when. and thus the idea for "what's on lorna's i-pod now?" was born.

i found my self listening to aztec camera's stray album when i was walking the dogs recently. this album really has aged well. i remember getting it during my freshman year at ucla, having been introduced to it by my friend, jason. (wonder what ever happened to him?). it's got a smoky jazz club piano feel to it sometimes, but there are some songs that rock. the title song, stray, is sweet and soulful. notting hill blues and over my head, pure torch songs. how it is, good morning britain and get out of london rock. mick jones from the clash does some guest vocals on britain and has one of the best lines - "don't be too black, don't be too gay; just get a little duller." highly recommended.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

i'm thinking of renaming the blog. i'm thinking of calling it, "nice turn signal, asshole." or maybe i'll call it, "hang up and drive, bitch." i'm not sure. i seem to say those two phrases an awful lot these days. can you guess why? hint, it may have something to do with the fact that i live in los angeles.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

such sad news. billy preston died at age 59. he played with two of my favorite all time musicians: the beatles and aretha franklin. you owe it to yourself to listen to his performance on the aretha franklin "live at the fillmore west" album. you will soon hear yourself echoing aretha's words, "play it, billy."

Saturday, May 27, 2006

so, i've been trying to take the bus to work once a week. there's a lot of positives to this. i'm reduing my gas consumption by about 20% and therefore can feel about 20% less responsible for the dead u.s. soldiers and iraqis. i'm contributing less to the global warming problem. i'm getting more exercise. i'm catching up on my podcasts. i'm getting out in my community more. and, this is the best one, i'm getting the chance to talk to crazy people!

so, i'm waiting for my bus yesterday after work and this lovely drunk gentleman called tony came up to me to chat. i thought i was about to get hit up for some cash or maybe get to talked to about jesus, but he wanted to tell me how beautiful i was and how i was "his type" of woman. i politely thanked him for his compliment, i mean, why be rude, and was rewarded with about 10 minutes of what tony thought was a quite witty chatting up. boy was he drunk. he could stand up pretty straight, but the verbal faculties were quite impaired! so, apparently, i am a fine white woman. no, it's true! tony was (and probably still is) black, so he felt that he needed to lean in to reveal the secret that i was white when he told me that, thus giving me the full benefit of the alcohol fumes coming off him. i'm surprised i wasn't drunk after the end of the conversation. so the conversation carried on in that vein for a while, with him telling me how he was just drawn to me and that i was totally his type of woman. when i told him that i was my husband's type of woman, too, he went off on that for a while. my husband is apparently blessed, and i heartily agreed to that! tony invited me to dinner. he would love to take me out to italian food and let me do the ordering...he would buy me "spaghetti, fettucine, fetaroni, everything!" he then told me that he was a burnt out pimp and i was, like, so waiting for him to try to turn me out, but, alas, tony was a bit of a joker, and recanted on the pimp story pretty quickly. i was very disappointed and tony really blew it, because i would have actually taken him out for a fetaroni dinner if i could have talked to a burnt out pimp! anyway, after a few more minutes on the subject of how nicely i was built (i am apparently solid) and some attempts to give me his phone number, tony announced that he had to leave. "i've been drinking some beers," he explained. "really?" i replied, the irony being a tad lost on him. "yeah, i have to pee." and then he walked off. i love the bus!

Friday, May 26, 2006

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

to quote eddie izzard: "pears can just fuck right off. they're either a rock or they're mush." i have three pear rocks on my desk that i have been waiting to ripen since i bought them on monday. the good thing is, i'm armed if anyone tries to attack me in my office. the bad thing is, i'm hungry. fuck off, you pears.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Friday, May 19, 2006

first, a clip from a japanese television show in which 6 guys have to do "dares" in a library and keep quiet the whole time. very odd. the best part happens around 8m 30s, but the whole thing is pretty entertaining.

then, an oldie, but a goodie: japanese girl band in meat helmets with komodo dragon.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

so, the people over at the apprentice must be totally scraping the bottom of the barrel for contestants to go on their lame-ass show. check out the email that i got sent through our firm's martindale-hubbell listing:

Dear Ms. [MalteseParakeet]: The sixth season of NBC's The Apprentice with Donald Trump is looking for a top-notch attorney to compete to become the next CEO of the Trump Organization. This season will be based in Los Angeles and we need phenomenal lawyers to represent our fine city. Please contact the casting director, [name withheld to protect the innocent] at [email withheld for same reason] as soon as possible to receive more information. Must be available to meet with producers this Sunday, May 7th in Santa Monica.

now i am not disputing the fact that i am a top notch attorney. however, what on god's green earth would an immigration attorney know about running a real estate company? for f's sake, people, do some research. it would be fun to go to the casting call to make fun of all the people who seriously think going on the apprentice would be a good idea, but i don't think that's worth wasting my whole sunday on.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Thursday, April 20, 2006

everyone let's welcome my friend wendleburger to the blogosphere. do check out her blog "things that drive me nuts," which i've also added to the handy links section on the right. she's a real cool chick, and damn hilarious to boot, so be on the lookout for oodles of cool content from her in the future.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

OH MY GOD those guys are my neighbors... they park the hearse on [street],right between [here] and [there]. One of them is from Iowa, hence the Iowa tags on the hearse. They actually walk around like that during the day as well.... one of my dogs always barks at them if we pass them in the street..and one time when they were getting out of the hearse, one of them dropped his burger on the floor and my other dog rushed at it, and ate it....the guy was pissed!!!!! I actually saw one of them in full "dress" coming out of the Jon's supermarket on Fountain/La Brea, with a bag of groceries. The very idea that Vampires go out in broad daylight and buy milk and a dozen eggs - OY !!

so, the bunk & i were lucky enough to go to the men's basketball banquet last night, which was, in a word, cool. the best moment of the evening was when coach howland was extolling the virtues of cedric bozeman and said, "arron got in foul trouble early on in the gonzaga game, so ced had the tough job of guarding the ncaa's leading scorer, adam morrison. he held him below his average...and made him cry." [insert resounding cheer from the audience here]

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Friday, April 14, 2006

so, it's about midnight on a thursday night and we're driving home from the thomas dolby show on the sunset strip in hollywood (which was great, btw). anyway, we're stopped at the light at the intersection where the whisky-a-go-go is and i look over and see this band (in full costume and makeup) loading all their gear ... into a hearse. it was the funniest thing i have ever seen. here are these guys who have put all this effort into their death metal persona (i'm talking floor-length goth coats, full vampire makeup, shaved heads, the works) and here they are schelpping their own gear after the show. i guess they thought they were keepin' it real with their hearse and their coffin shaped guitar cases, but the effect was nothing short of hilarious.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

could one of my favorite chefs (alton brown) and one of my favorite musicians (thomas dolby) be separated at birth? you be the judge.

so anyway, thomas dolby is touring and he's going to be in l.a. next week and i was able to get tickets. yay! a little too young to see him tour the first time around, i'm really looking forward to this. i look fondly upon "eruopa and the pirate twins" as one of my first favorite alternative songs during my formative musical years.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Sunday, April 02, 2006

National Championship Baby!!! OK, so it's 2 am, but i had a thing to do tonite and just got finished watching the game and then the call to Daven in Tokyo. BRUINS! I can't believe it! Actually, yes I can! Go Bruins! I picked 'em to go all the way in my brackets (and so did Dani) and that's because I have been watching them all season and I believe! I AM the Bruin faithful. I believe. I belive in Farmar, Aflalo, Mbah a Moute, Bozeman, Mata, Roll, Collison, Aboya and Hollins! It's a magical march to a national championship! I believe, baby! We came out and played! Offense and defense. We put those LSU Tigers to shame. Big Baby was just that, a big baby. Nothing from him - 5 for 17 from the field. Our big guys inside shut him down. Luc with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Mata in there playing big with his broken nose. Defense shut them down! Hollins playing hurt. Coach Howland, being classy and always thinking about the next game. Kareem and Reggie Miller in the house couldn't hurt either. Like Jordan said, "Playing hard and playing together." Luc said the after the Memphis game, we have the best fans in the country, and it's true! We are one victory away from our 12th national championship! Bring it home guys, number 12!

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Can you believe it! I put on my Moute Kicks Boute shirt and just believed. Luc repaid me by coming up with the winning basket and the crucial steal at the end...and he made that fucking porn-stache freak Adam Morrison cry like the little girl that he is! I am exhausted from the jumping and hoarse from the screaming and my neighbors are probably about ready to call the cops, but I don't care! MY BRUINS are going to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1997! Now all I have to do find a place in Tokyo to watch the game...oh yeah, and pack!

P.S. How classy is Arron Afflalo to go pick Porn-Stache Cry Baby up off the floor? Note the conspicuous absence of Gonzaga teammates around Morrison in his moment of shame.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

haven't had too much time to post recently, as i spent the weekend in rancho mirage with my grandmother and simultaneously trying to get ready to get out of town (out of the country, actually) on friday morning. anyway, me & the long suffering husband are off to japan and i'm taking a digital camera and my laptop (among other things) so that i can post some cool travel log type things while i'm there. so, check this space often...

Sunday, March 12, 2006

can you believe these seats?! this was a once-in-a-lifetime treat and we had a blast. lakers lost, but it was still a pretty good game. plus, it was great to see former bruin earl watson (standing to the left of kobe and forever lovingly known to us as monchichi) even if he was playing for the sonics. anyway, you can check out the ol' flickr page for some more photos of the game. go lakers!

p.s. in other news, we got home to find out that our bruins got a number 2 seed for the ncaa tournament. 2??? 2!!! couldn't be happier! go bruins!

Saturday, March 11, 2006

the dogs were being unbearably cute this morning, so i snapped a few pics. there's a few more up on my flicker page. here's some unbearable cutness for your saturday morning...

n.b., i generally do not dress up the dogs, but the shirts were in a box on the floor and multy walked up to the box and actually pulled his hawaiian shirt out of the box. he loves it. the dog is john waters; what more can i say?

Monday, March 06, 2006

ucla men's basketball is back - it's official! we're 2006 pac 10 champions for the first time in nine years and almost got the pac-10 award hat trick with the freshman of the year award for our cameroonian prince luc-richard mbah-a-moute [moo-tay] (still waiting for my moute kicks boute t-shirt to come in the mail) and the coach of the year award for ben howland. arron aflalo and jordan farmar were named to the all pac-10 team. here's to good things to come for my bruins in the upcoming pac-10 tournament and the big dance. goooo bruins!

Sunday, March 05, 2006

...and other food oddities. an exercise in food blogging undertaken by my mom, my aunt and myself, in which we generally provide a transcript of a one of our typical family gatherings (make food, eat food, talk about food we've eaten, talk about food we've made, talk about food we'd like to make, talk about food we'd like to eat, etc.). check it out.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

i have been saying it for months, maybe years: the only difference between the current bush administration and the ferdinand marcos administration in the philippines is laura bush probably doesn't have 3,000 pairs of shoes. well, that and george (the tanned vampire) hamilton doesn't seem to be hanging out with dubya all that much. anyway, the current administration is nothing but a bunch of crooks that are in it to make money for themselves and their giant corporation friends. case in point: halliburton. 'nuff said.

so, ever since this dubai ports debacle broke in the news, i have been asking, "where's the money? what fobs (friend of bush) are getting rich off this?" well, i think i just found them, and they're all related to treasury secretary john snow and railroad and shipping conglomerate, csx. here's an interesting blog post or two pointing out the connection between snow, csx and dubai ports world, who just bought p&o.

in february 2005, csx sold their ports business called, csx world terminals, to dubai ports international for more than $1.1 billion, see page 3 of csx's 10K.

dubai ports world was later formed from the dubai port authority and dubai ports international terminals.

a dubai ports world executive was appointed by dubya on january 24, 2006 to be our country’s maritime administrator, in charge of our nation’s ports, among other things.

dubai ports world just purchased p&o on february 13, 2006. snow’s treasury department just gave the ok on the p&o sale to dubai ports world. john snow, current treasury secretary, was chairman and ceo of csx until he took the treasury job in january 2003.

so, basically, you work for a big company, then you get put into a position of power in the administration where you can use your power to do favors for that company and its friends. that’s how it works. at the very least, you have a glaring conflict of interest.

there’s also an interesting carlyle group connection, although they don’t seem to be directly related to the dubai port deal. interesting to note that csx is also in bed with the carlyle group, which is, in turn, in bed with the bush family. it’s how dubya will make all his money...when daddy bush shuffles off this mortal coil. you will remember the carlyle group from the infamous michael moore movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, they are longtime fob's. in fact, dubya used to sit on their board (until he was asked to leave) and daddy bush was a “senior advisor” until he retired in october 2003 and is still a shareholder. in addition to the substantial saudi connections to carlyle, the group is also making a ton of money off the united arab emirates, who invested about $8 billion in the carlyle group in 2005, through the uae government backed company, dubai international capital. in february 2003, csx sold the majority interest of their container shipping lines, called csx lines, to the carlyle group, forming a joint venture called horizon lines, which was later sold. see page 4 of csx’s 2004 10K.

have you heard anything about this on the msm? no. only knee-jerk, racist hysteria about arabs being in charge of american ports. and the msm and republican lapdogs are doing exactly what bush’s handlers want. they don’t want you looking at the real issue, which is how the bush administration are using our government to make themselves and their friends rich. wake the fuck up, people.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

finally got around to converting the pics i took of my dia de los muerto altar...last november 2. the altar was my best ever, with marigold garlands added to the mix. the photos were not so good, though. here's the best wide shot. two other pics up on flickr.

Friday, February 24, 2006

normally, articles in the msm about immigration are barely researched, poorly written and, often, just plain wrong. however, i found an article that is actually pretty good, about a top indian scientist who was given all kinds of grief at the u.s. consulate in chennai. as background, his field of research (chemistry) makes him eligible for something called the technology alert list but any consular officer worth her salt would be able to review his c.v. and previous visa history and see that there are no weapons implications and issue the visa without having to get a clearance from department of state. at any rate, it is a good example of how the consular officers treat applicants: they start with the assumption that everyone is lying and go from there. and if that's is how they treat a distinguished scientist, imagine how they treat the average person. this is why i hate my job.

Friday, February 17, 2006

just listening to "abbey road" and remarking to myself, "damn, maxwell's silver hammer is such a good song!" it's so f'ing wierd, but then the music is all cute & poppy, which just accentuates the dark lyrics. i love that song. i guess that' s why i named my dog after it. no kidding, that's max's official registered name with the akc. here he is in all his extreme closeup glory (this is basically what i see when i first open my eyes in the morning).

Monday, February 13, 2006

ok, so i'm at the movie theatre (to see syriana, by the way, and i'm still trying to figure that shit out) and the theatre has this pre-show "adver-tainment" that basically has all these ads that you aren't supposed to think are ads, interspaced with, you guessed it, more ads. annoying, but pretty easy to ignore. but at one point they have this really annoying ad for this ky 2-in-1 warming body massage and personal lubricant (it's a floor polish; no, it's a dessert topping). ok, there are so many things wrong with that, i don't know where to start. why do i have to see this uptight yuppie bitch talking about personal-f'ing-lubricant when i'm in a movie theatre!? but it's ok, this gets funny. the commercial cuts to a shot of the entire product line at the end and one of the products is called "paris twilight" and i wasn't exactly paying attention so i read it really fast and i thought it said "penis twilight" and i was all "no they didn't." then i realized that it said "paris" not "penis" and i totally lost it. i mean, totally lost it, laughing so hard i couldn't breathe or even sit up in my chair, tears running down my face, people looking at me, husband trying to pretend that he's not with me - that kind of laughing. so, thank you ky for that moment, but: one, please keep your ads out of the movie theatres (at least normal movie theatres); and two, you may want to rethink using the word "paris" in your advertisements. i'm still laughing.

Monday, February 06, 2006

couldn't be buggered to watch the superbowl, but did catch most of animal planet's puppybowl 2. favorite part: the bowl cam, in which a camera is placed looking up from the bottom of the water bowl and you get to see puppies drink. least favorite part: kitten half time. and from what i've heard about the actual superbowl game, this was actually time well spent.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

just found out that wilson pickett died today at age 64. so young! i first found out about wilson when i was in college and saw the movie "the commitments," which I credit as the beginning of my now lifelong appreciation for soul, r&b and the blues. so, "in the midnight hour" has a special place in my heart. and wilson is also responsible for another of my theme songs, "mustang sally," which is dear to my heart from driving around in a mustang for the better part of 10 years. but it really was my song of choice when i was fortunate enough to be tooling around town in this little sweetheart, my dream car and my future inheritance, during the summer of 2004. (as an aside, is it wierd to have theme songs? is it even wierder that i have theme songs only related to cars that i drive? i don't think i will have another one soon, though, unless someone rights a song about an acura. i also suspect this may be my aunt's theme song, too, and i'll hope she'll put a picture of her rad fastback up on her blog. anyway, back to wilson...)

so, in honor of wilson, get "mustang sally" rockin' on your cd player, ipod, or whatever, at top volume and have a good jam to send wilson off:

Mustang Sally, think you better slow your mustang down.Mustang Sally, think you better slow your mustang down.You been running all over the town now.Oh! I guess I'll have to put your flat feet on the ground.

All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.One of these early mornings, oh, you gonna be wiping your weeping eyes.

I bought you a brand new mustang 'bout nineteen sixty five.Now you come around signifying a woman, you don't wanna let me ride.Mustang Sally, think you better slow your mustang down.You been running all over the town now.Oh! I guess I'll have to put your flat feet on the ground.

All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

proud to be a bruin tonight! proud to wear my "i heart vy" (vince young) shirt and rub some salt in $c's football wounds. and so proud to watch our team out score, out rebound, out run, out class and just generally humiliate u$c from jordan farmar's ice-water-in-his-veins 3 point shot literally seconds into the game to the crowning glory of seeing kelvin kim subbed in near the end (you know the team you're playing is bad when our scrappy korean walk-on and crowd favorite gets court time). it was a joy to watch arron aflalo's intensity on offense and defense. i couldn't have been more thrilled to see luc-richard mbah a moute (who else has royalty on their team?), alfred aboya and ryan wright pulling down rebounds, blocking shots, forcing turnovers and generally making huge plays. darren collison's quickness brings a tear to my eye as i recall the good ol' days of tyus edney! it was great to witness mike roll coming into his own and in the starting lineup again. and i practically fainted at ryan hollins' two, yes two, no really, i'm telling you, two dunks in one game! i know cedric bozeman, josh shipp, lorenzo mata and michael fey were dying to be on the court, too, and we really miss seeing them play.

so, here's to my bruins. thanks for that game, you made us proud. we really needed that win to remind us that we are indeed the mighty bruins!

and as for $c's coach, let me just tell you that his technical foul was not for crumpling up his game plan and throwing it to the ground, it was for kicking the basketball as it was rolling towards ref and he should have been thrown out for it instead of that cheap technical foul.

how would mlk feel if he were alive today? would he think that progress has been made in the areas of civil rights and equality? i'm tempted to think not, if we judge today's situation by the standards that he set out in his speech:

"There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until 'justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'"

other than the desegregation of hotels and restaurants (thank you, commerce clause) and the fact that african americans can now vote in mississippi, but apparently not in presidential elections in florida, what has changed? this country has let dr. king down. this country has let itself down. we owe dr. king and ourselves much more.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

...they make it so easy. Here's the latest: a photo from the Rose Bowl game showing a dumbass USC "Song Girl" cheering as Texas scores! Since the cheerleaders and football players are all "Exercise Science" "majors," you think that they would spend at least one class on the rules of the game. "OK, Buffy, don't make me go over this again. When the other team scores, you DON'T cheer."

Monday, January 09, 2006

i forgot that i had a theme song; thanks for reminding me, ipod. it's calld "bitchin' camaro" by the dead milkmen and it goes a little somethin' like this:

BITCHIN CAMARO, BITCHIN CAMAROI ran over my neighborsBITCHIN CAMARAO, BITCHIN CAMARONow it's in all the papers.My folks bought me a BITCHIN CAMARO with no insurance to match;So if you happen to run me down, please don't leave a scratch.I ran over some old lady one night at the county fair;And I didn't get arrested, because my dad's the mayor.BITCHIN CAMARO, BITCHIN CAMARODoughnuts on your lawnBITCHIN CAMARO, BITCHIN CAMAROTony Orlando and DawnWhen I drive past the kids, they all spit and cuss,Because I've got a BITCHIN CAMARO and they have to ride the bus.So you'd better get out of my way, when I run through your yard;Because I've got a BITCHIN CAMARO;And an Exxon credit card.BITCHIN CAMARO, BITCHIN CAMAROHey, man where ya headed?BITCHIN CAMARO, BITCHIN CAMAROI drive on unleaded.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

This is for all of you U$C brats and bandwagon-jumpers who have been yelling all season long that you were going for the national championship "three-peat." I know that they don't teach you anything useful at the University of Second Choice, so here's a little elementary math lesson: one and one equals two, not three. You have to have won two previous national championships to go for a "three-peat" and, as the picture above so plainly demonstrates (thanks to Bruin Report Online poster "uclaxray"), U$C only had one. And, actually, after last night's game, one and nothing equals one! So, shut up about your football dynasty...one national championship is just, well, ordinary. Come back to me when you have ELEVEN and then maybe we'll talk!

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

As my coffee mug says, "My two favorite teams are UCLA and whoever's playing U$C." I'd never thought I say this, but, man, I LOVE TEXAS right now!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Vince Young! $C's been walking around town acting like they've already won this thing for the past four weeks, so thanks for wiping that smug grin of Pete Carroll's face. Let's hope this is the beginning of the end for $C. Fuck SC! Here's a link to the t-shirt that I purchased last night to celebrate! http://www.cafepress.com/buy/university%20texas/-/pv_design_details/pg_9/id_9344146/opt_/fpt_/c_/hlv_t